This is a profound look at what a human being goes through in a survival situation. It is not designed to relay the gory details of survivor stories. Instead this book systematically disects and examines the way the human mind functions when it meets with disaster. I have never read a book that better describes and defines the attributes that separate "The Quick From The Dead". Gonzales also did a great job presenting this information in a personal way that keeps the reader on the edge of thier seat. Exellent book for anyone, especially if you ever venture into the wild. This should be required reading for SAR professionals.

This book was not what I expected. not much adventure. more how the mind works wohoo

I was somewhat torn on how to review this book. When I first read the book, I came away feeling like I had learned alot about how the mind works and what it is that makes some people able to survive these life threatening situations.

After giving the book some time to process, I started to realize there's very little content or real information. A lot of theory (which only modest science behind it) and a lot of antecdotes.

I participated in a 1-hour meet-and-greet with the author to discuss his book and ideas. I was not at all impressed. Very little scientific method behind his ideas. His book makes it sound like his ideas have broad-reaching applications, but it turns out that they apply only to a very specific class of person.

Office workers, intellects, and city-dwellers need not apply. The mindset and skills he talks about only exist in survivalists, militia groups, and rural-country folk. This, more than anything else, was the most disapointing aspect of this book--learning that the author believes his book has no value to someone like me.

I found this book to be too much like listening to a lecture and not a story. The few survivor stories were disjointed and had very little detail to them. It seemed to drone on an on about how the brain works, I was expecting to learn some survival techniques and all I learned was think like a survivor. I listen to most of my books many times but had to force myself to finish this one.

A terrific audio book. 10+ hours, but wish there was more. The true account storytelling dovetailed with the explaination and analysis exposes the roots of survival.
Exciting, frightening, and educational, with lessons applicable not only in survival circumstances but everyday life.

Gonzales effortlessly weaves quantam mechanics, spirituality, psychology and James Bond into
a fascinating book that is at first glance about physical survival, but it can be used as a metaphor for many facets of human experience.

I'm in awe of how Gonzales uses information from such diverse sources - yet it all fits so logically. I can't say enough good about this book. It's intelligent, educational, emotional, and entertaining. And finally - the perfect narrator as a bonus.

An absolutely great book. This was my first book into what is referred to as "survival literature." After reading other books in the same genre, I would highly recommend this to anyone as either a primer on the group, and/or a broad, stand alone reference.
One thing to watch for, and it's not a critique of the book necessarily, but simply an interesting observation.
The author seeks out adventure, always trying to live up to his father's example. Except that his father lived a thousand lives in the service of his country, came home and raised a large family, and carved out an all-American life. The author, in contrast, never served anyone but himself. He went through several marriages, flew for fun not for country, and generally missed the larger point of his father's core example. That of self-sacrifice, not self-aggrandizement.
Still a great book, that I gave 5 stars.

First the book is fun to read. The stories are incredible and amazing. But I really don't buy the premise that some people have got "it" and thus survive and others do not. The book selectively shows people who survived "against all odds." But in reality there are far more people who died when they were "against all odds." That's why it's "against all odds." Further, there are even more people who set out prepared, were skilled and ended up dying anyway. I do not doubt for a moment that in many cases survival comes down to having your personal amount of "it." But his a basic claim is that if you survived "against all odds" you have "it."
Several firefighters were inside World Trade Centers when they collapsed. A few survived. They did not survive because they had "it" and the other firefighters did not. They survived because they happen to be standing in the right place at the right time. People standing in front of them and people standing behind them did not survive. A six month old baby (with an oxygen mask) could have done the exact same thing (I personally like to believe that those firefighters had more "it" than anybody on the planet). Having said all that this is still a fun book to read if you enjoy survivor stories and particularly if you believe that you have "it." And I believe I do.
The recording and narration itself are excellent.

yes, it won't teach you survival techniques. he tells you right there in the book: survival is all about mindset. the stories are interesting, with a little Taoism tossed in. entertaining and enjoyable.
oh, and the narration is terrific (sounds almost like anthony bourdain).

never a dull moment with this audio book, i loved it. as many others have noted, the narrator is very good and never misses a beat. i love all the things others have noted, plus one other thing. this man can write, really write. every sentence in this book is well crafted and exuberant in its choice of words. i will listen to this again and again. thanks to all the other people whose comments made me curious enough to listen to something i might not have ever chosen.